1. Blackstone Launches First Private Equity Fund for the Wealthy;
2. Bitcoin Briefly Returns to $45,000;
3. Boeing 737 Aircraft Loses Part Mid-Flight;
4. Apple to Launch Vision Pro;
5. Chen Tianqiao Becomes Second Largest Foreign Landowner in the U.S.;
6. Jefferies’ Q4 Results Disappoint;
7. Unity Lays Off 1,000 Employees.
1. Blackstone Launches First Private Equity Fund for the Wealthy
According to a newly released filing, Blackstone’s (Blackstone) first private equity fund targeted at high-net-worth individuals, BXPE, has raised a total of $1.3 billion.
The large fundraising amount suggests that institutional capital is increasingly scarce for firms like Blackstone, prompting them to tap into wealthy retail investors.
BXPE’s main strategies include venture capital and leveraged buyouts, specialties of CEO Steve Schwarzman.
BXPE is targeted at individuals with at least $5 million in investable assets—a niche demographic, but one that can be found with sufficient effort.
Blackstone says investors willing to pay higher fees may be able to achieve returns far above traditional investments.
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2. Bitcoin Briefly Returns to $45,000
BlackRock, Ark, and several other firms seeking to launch cryptocurrency ETFs have just submitted updated S-1 filings to the U.S. SEC.
Since market expectations began last year that the SEC would approve a Bitcoin ETF, Bitcoin’s price has surged more than 160%.
The SEC is expected to make an initial decision on at least one filing by January 10, and analysts believe multiple approval announcements could come on the same day.
Today, Bitcoin rose as much as 2.1% to $45,207 before pulling back.
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3. Boeing 737 Aircraft Loses Part Mid-Flight
Last Friday, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members lost an external component seven minutes after takeoff, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Fortunately, all passengers landed safely.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the two seats near the missing panel were unoccupied.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded multiple airlines’ Boeing Max 9 aircraft and banned aircraft of the same model from entering the U.S. from abroad. A total of 171 planes are affected.
The NTSB has launched what may be a months-long investigation and has recovered the aircraft’s uninstalled door plug.
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4. Apple to Launch Vision Pro
According to a statement released by Apple today, the $3,499 Vision Pro headset will go on pre-sale starting January 19 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time and officially launch on February 2.
Vision Pro includes both virtual and augmented reality capabilities. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the era of “spatial computing” has arrived. Vision Pro will be the most advanced consumer electronics product ever made.
Vision Pro was first unveiled in June 2023 and will mark Apple’s first new product line since 2015. It is designed to enhance users’ experience in video calls, gaming, watching videos, and creative work.
Apple’s Vision Pro is priced significantly higher than competitors like Meta Quest, but it includes dual 4K displays.
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5. Chen Tianqiao Becomes Second Largest Foreign Landowner in the U.S.
According to the latest ranking by Land Report, Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao, who made his fortune in online gaming, owns 198,000 acres of forestland in Oregon, ranking 82nd among U.S. landowners.
In 2015, Chen Tianqiao purchased the land for $85 million from Fidelity National Ventures.
He is currently the second-largest foreign landowner in the U.S., behind only Canada’s Irving family, which owns 1.2 million acres in Maine.
More than half of U.S. states prohibit foreign investors from purchasing local agricultural land.
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6. Jefferies’ Q4 Results Disappoint
Investment bank Jefferies Financial Group reported that its Q4 revenue plunged 64% to $141 million due to underperformance in its asset management division.
Fortunately, debt and equity underwriting saw a rebound, boosting the firm’s investment banking revenue.
CEO Richard Handler stated that 2023 was a transitional year for the economy and capital markets and that he believes the year marked a low point, with expectations for improvement in 2024.
In Q4, Jefferies posted $66 million in profit, down 53% year-over-year. Jefferies’ stock fell about 3% today but is up roughly 1% for the year.
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7. Unity Lays Off 1,000 Employees
According to a regulatory filing, San Francisco-based software company Unity Software will lay off approximately 1,800 employees—around 25% of its workforce.
The company said it currently cannot estimate the cost of layoffs and severance, but the primary goal is to improve long-term profitability.
Last year, Unity came under fire for raising its product prices and later reversed the plan.
Unity offers both a free personal edition and a paid professional version of its game development platform.
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This content is sourced from Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The Real Deal, among other financial news outlets.